The present invention relates to apparatus for automatically and uniformly delivering particulate material charges to remote locations. This invention can be used to automatically deliver a solid, powdered lubricant in small, measured quantities to lubricate the plunger or other parts of a die casting machine.
Industrial die casting machines often require automated plunger lubrication. For some applications, solid lubricants are preferred over the standard liquid lubricants. However, solid lubricants typically cannot be delivered with liquid lubricant applicators.
A gravity feed system can be used for delivering solid lubricants. Such a system commonly must be positioned immediately above the lubricant pour hole. Consequently, the flexibility of the system is limited. Also, installation and maintenance of the lubricant supply equipment are difficult due to the necessity of working in close proximity to the die casting equipment.
Systems are known which are capable of conveying air-entrained powders to remote locations in measured amounts. In such systems, both the delivery event and the measuring event often must be separately coordinated with an outside event, such as a mold cycle. Coordination techniques are often complicated, requiring multiple control inputs.